Beauty: Current Summer Favourites

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe we are already in August. I know at least on person says that at the beginning of every month but... seriously? August? I swear it was just Christmas, I did not sign up for this. Anyway, before I start getting all nostalgic and sounding like I'm in the middle of my midlife crisis I'm going to get on with today's post. With technically only one month left of summer *sobs*, I thought I better get a wiggle on and let you know what I have been loving this summer so far in terms of beauty. That's one of the things that I absolutely love about the idea of the changing of the seasons, is that it's a great opportunity to completely change up your look. Every year I am ready and raring to go when it comes to breaking out the summer beauty products, its all glow and bronze and shimmer, what more could you want? I love the opportunity to feel like a Greek Goddess every day.

Rimmel London Rita Ora Nail Polishes

I absolutely love the shades for Rita Ora's Rimmel London nail polishes, despite the fact that they have actually been out for quite a while now. I just fine that they are all so summer and bright, you only need a maximum of two coats and they last decently for a few days without chipping, depending on what you are doing. The one that I find myself constantly reaching for is this one in 'Go Wild-er-ness' which is a gorgeous lilac colour which is the perfect mix between pastel and bright and would be perfect for a summer holiday or festival.

NYX Baked Blush in Chiffon

as I mentioned previously I am in love with glowy summer looks and this blush is perfect. It provides a natural summer flush with a small amount of summer in it I love this shade because it's not bright pink and is quite muted which is great for someone like me who is already naturally quite red/pink in skin tone. I love this blusher if I'm going for quite a pinky/ girly make up look.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation (03 True Ivory)

 Unfortunatly I'm still not tanned enough to get any shade darker than this, however this foundation is a must for summer. It give a great medium coverage so is not too heavy but also still hides all of your blemishes and 'imperfections'. It's really easy to blend and gives a fairly glowy look without making you look greasy. One of the best benefits of this is that it has SPF 20 in it which is so needed for this time of year, and is great to go on top of your normal SPF to keep your skin damage free.

Rimmel Kate Moss Sculpting Pallette in Coral Glow

I am absolutely loving the new Kate Moss range for Rimmel. The rose gold packaging is to die for and the products are beautiful. I particularly like this contour pallette. At the top is a highlight, which is perfect for a day time highlight look as it is quite muted but definitely gives a gorgeous glow in the right lighting without making you look like a disco ball. Next is a bronzer which is great for contour, and what I like about this bronzer is that it is more brown toned, where as most others I come across have a slight terracotta undertone to them. I don't mind those but it's nice to have a change. Finally is gorgeous summer coral blush which would be great for a bright and tropical make up look.

Benefit gimme brow

Normally I am quite lazy with my brows and simply just use a powder formula to fill them in with an angled brush and hope that is enough. However, with it being summer and the sun being out, my natural brows are no blonder than ever, and I just need a little bit extra to make them seem fuller, and when I got a free sample of Benefit's infamous gimme brow in this month's glamour magazine. I can't believe I haven't used this before! My brows are so much fuller and it's great.. will definitely end up buying the full size.

Barry M Strobe Highlighter

This has to be my absolute favourite thing in this whole post. This highlighter is literally amazing. It's a cream highlighter and is so so pigmented. It's so easy to apply and really easy to blend.I just apply this to the top of my cheek bones, my brow bone and my cupid's bow and it looks so gorgeous. I think it's perfect for summer as it makes you so glowey and basically like a snapchat filter. I would say that this is definitely more of a nighttime highlighter but you could definitely put it on lighter for a day time look.

Nyx soft matte lip cream in London

I don't think I'm the only one whose fallen in love with the soft matte lip creams, they're basically a cheaper version of the kylie jenner liquid lipsticks and are so good! I love this shade as it's really natural and lasts for such a long time, perfect for the heat.

Last but not least is a good solid brozer from Collection. It is a more terracotta tone than the kate moss one, which i quite like when I'm going for a more bronzed up, tanned look. It look natural and is also super cheap. What's not to love?

What are your summer beauty essentials? Do you use any of these products?

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Hope you all have a lovely day!

Love,Yasmin xxx

Fashion: Lazy Beach Days

Hello everyone!

I have been away for the last few days, so I apologize that I have only been managing to get one post a week, but I've been really busy and have quite a weak internet connection which sucks. However I have been having a wonderful and relaxing time and have managed to get some gorgeous blog photos here, which you will be seeing very soon! My family decided to escape for a few days to Camber Sands in East Sussex to a small apartment across the road to the beautiful sand dunes and beach. It has been absolutely lovely - we've been very lucky that the weather has been pretty good and warm for the UK, and have therefore been able to spend long days chilling on the beach. Today I wanted to write a post about my go to lazy beach outfit which I took some photos of in the gorgeous dunes yesterday.

First off with my hair: more often than not, if I am on the beach, I will want to get my hair out of my face to stop it getting tangled with wind, sand and sea and so that I don't have to faff about with it all too much. I absolutely love doing two french plaits, which I think look great as I have very long hair now. They just stop me from worrying all day as to what my hair looks like, as I know that it's going to keep and look super adorable all day. 

Next I decided to put on this little black choker with a small gold sun charm on it. I got this from Primark as I've seen so many people rocking them and I wanted to join the party. I think that it makes any plain outfit look instantly cool and more boho, which is great for a beach look... it makes my outfit more dressed up without going too overboard and compromising on comfort. 

My top is a plain black tshirt crop top from H&M a few years ago. I can't even begin to explain how often I wear this top, it goes with everything! Definitely something that you all need in your wardrobe..goes with skirts, shorts, jeans... the list is endless!

And finally, my cotton shorts are black with white patterned flowers on them, and little frills on the bottom from Primark. These are so comfortable and light, and great for lazing around on the beach all day. They don't ever feel too tight and are the perfect mix of casual and smart.

All in all I am super happy with this beach look and cannot stress enough how comfy it is!

Have you been on holiday this year? What's your go to beach look?

I really hope you enjoyed this post!

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Love, Yasmin xxx

Life: Double Choc Chip Cupcakes

Hello Everyone!

I'm back today with another baking blog post for you, which I have been absolutely loving doing recently. I have really been enjoying taking a basic recipe and changing it up my self to what I have in my cupboard or to what I fancy. Yesterday, I initially thought that I was going to just make some simple cupcakes, but somehow, I ended up with double chocolate chip cupcakes with a butter cream frosting, and I have to say (not blowing my own trumpet) but they were too delicious not to share with you. The best part of this recipe? They are so quick and easy to make, any of you can do it, even if you're a bit of a novice in the kitchen and you don't need any fancy equipment!

Ingredients (Cupcakes)

110g butter (soft, room temperature)

110g caster sugar

110g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp cocoa powder

chocolate chips (as many as you like)

Ingredients (Butter icing)

140g butter

280g icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons of milk

Method

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line  a muffin tray with paper cases (I used these adorable ones with pink polka dots on!)

2) Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy

3) Sift in flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder into the bowl

4) Beat the eggs and vanilla extract then add to the main bowl and beat until combined

5) Stir in chocolate chips

6) put the mixture into the paper cases and bake for around twenty minutes, testing if it is cooked by poking a knife into one of the cakes and seeing whether it comes out clean

7) Leave to cool before decorating or your icing will melt

These cakes are of course delicious on their own, but if you want something a bit extra, butter icing is perfect!

1)Beat the butter in the bowl to make it more smooth

2) Gradually add your icing sugar and continue to beat until all combined 

3) add some milk to make it extra creamy

4) put them on yours cakes! You can be fancy and use a piping bag, but I tend to just swipe it on with a knife

Finally I just popped some more chocolate chips on top. Et voila! Some light and delicious chocolate cupcakes perfect for any occasion 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you would like to see even more recipes from me, as I love writing about them. What are your favourite recipes?

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Beauty: Bubbasdoll Lip Scrub Review

Hello everyone! 

Today I have a brand new product for you that I think you're going to love! Introducing Bubbasdoll lip scrubs*. It's now summer and the weather is warmer and the sun is out, which is absolutely fabulous for us. However, our skin may disagree slightly. Whilst we might all try to be good make sure we are keeping on top of moisturising and SPF, there are obviously going to be times when we slip up and might get a little bit burnt or dry and flakey. We all think about our face, but a lot of us forget about taking care of our lips, which are also a very important part of skin. And if you're like me, and have an obsession with lip glosses, lip liners, lipsticks, the works, you will definitely need to make sure you are looking after your lips to provide the best canvas that you can for your work of art. Lip scrubs are a great way to not only make sure that your lips are nice and moisturised but keep the blood flowing to make sure that they are lovely and naturally plump.

So when I was contacted recently by Kiera, asking me if  I would like to try her homemade, natural lip scrubs I was beyond excited. The scrub arrived in a gorgeous little box with little notes from Kiera herself such as how to use the product and it's ingredients. The packaging is a little glass jar with an adorable ribbon tied around it. I just found it so authentic and personal and it's so nice to have a homemade product. When I first opened the jar I was amazed at the prominent scent of toffee, making it so much more 'luxury' and nice to use. They also have the flavours of coffee, bubblegum peppermint and tropical, which I am very eager to try. Each of them contain coconut oil, natural flavours and are suitable for vegetarians. They are retailed at the bargain price of £4 each on Etsy 

All you have to do is stir the scrub with the little strirers provided and apply to your lips, then rinse off. I found the formula of the scrub very comfortable and not too harsh, but could also feel it working away at my dead skin and circulation. Once I had rinsed it off, I applied a small about of vaseline to my lips to add a bit of moisture, et voila! They felt so much softer and plumper, and all in such a small amount of time. I would suggest doing this a few times a week to keep your lips irresistible.

If you would like to find out more about Bubbasdoll lip scrubs you can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Etsy.

Thanks so much for reading this review, I hope you enjoyed it! 

Don't forget to follow me on twitter, instagram and Bloglovin'

Love, Yasmin xxx

Beauty: Maybelline Blushed Nudes Eyeshadow Palette Review

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about my new love, and something I have grown to become very reliant on in many of my summery makeup routine. The Maybelline Blushed Nudes Palette. I knew that I had to change up my eye makeup a little bit when I realised that pretty much all the eyeshaddow palettes I own are full of browny/nudes, which is great, we all love them and they're a great go to colour. However, these are the colours I have been rocking for absolute years now and when I noticed this palette  in Superdrug, I had to get it!

What caught my eye about this palette is the fact that this contains so many gorgeous pink shades, and even the shades that aren't pink have a hint of pink shimmer in them and they all just look gorgeous together. The  top row is full of light colours which are perfect for base shades: A bright shimmery pearl, a shimmer pale pinky nude, a pale taupe, baby pink, browny pink and a pale shimmery brown.

The bottom line is full of darkey colours which are perfect for the crease and blending: A shimmery rose gold, a dark brown, a shimmery coffee colour, a dark grey, a deep rosy pink and a dark brown with perfect pink shimmers running through it.

The pigmentation of this pallete is really great, you barely need any product on the brush, which is perfect because it means that the palette will hopefully hopefully last for ages. The colours are also really easy to blend and can create either a really bright eye or a dark and smokey look. One of the best parts about this palette is the price. At only £10, I think that it is such good value for money. Personally I like to use my own brushes, however, it also comes with a double ended brush which is great for on the move if you need to touch up or adjust your look from day to night. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this post! Please let me know in the comments which eye shadow palettes are your favourite?

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Love, Yasmin xx

Fashion: Party Outfit Post

Hello everyone!

I absolutely love getting dressed up for a night out, it's one of my absolute favourite things. So when it was one of my friends birthday celebrations, I got super excited. Not only because we were all going out but because it was one of the first proper times seeing all my old friends since coming home from university from the summer. At the moment I am one hundred percent having a love affair with play suits. I don't normally go for red tones, but I really fell for this light burgundy colour. It buttons down and has lose shorts with a belt tie. I think that this not only looks so smart and classy, but a nice twist on a dress, which I would normally automatically opt for on a night out. I decided to pair these with slinky nude heels to keep this look neutral and fresh, as I am getting a bit bored of constantly wearing at least some sort of black - this outfit actually has none! This definitely makes it more summery. To go with this I styled my hair with loose waves and a glowey makeup look with lots of highlighter so that even if the sun isn't shining, I can at least pretend my face is reaping the benefits.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this outfit post! What's your go to outfit for a night out?

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Love,Yasmin xxx